Review......

The first week of being home was a reprieve of sorts. Puddin' was on spring break from school and my family purposed to keep the calendar blank for my sake. During that time I hugged and cuddled a lot with Hubby and girls. I put a few things in order to help me regain familiarity around the house and I chose to ignore other things that will beg for cleaning inspection at a later date.

Birthday Milestone

That week Hubby celebrated his 55th birthday. Daddy had sent a money gift home with me for us to go out and celebrate with so we went to one of our family favorites - Claim Jumpers. As always the food was scrumptious, atmosphere supercharged, and the company memorable.

Our girls were so cheerful with their smiles and stories that kept us entertained. A family friend met us there too and it was his first experience eating the yummy food. We were blessed to be able to share it all with him.

Goodbye to the Truck

Hubby called me one day for a ride home from work. His truck had broken......again. Over the years he has been so patient with jimmy-rigging his vehicle into function. Part of it has been out of financial desperation and part of it because it once belonged to his father. (To clarify...it is not the truck in the above picture. I just liked the nostalgia of the shot.) It is now however beyond the point of being worth fixing. It is hard to let his old Chevy go but we really do need to figure out a replacement.

I am so grateful to my mom and dad letting us use their spare vehicle while we figure out what to do. We have so many youth that are always wanting to hang around so it has been really nice to have the extra seat capacity of their Expedition. The only down side is that it is much too big of a vehicle for Pippin to drive and help me with all of our errands. I sure have gotten used to her extra driving hands. But I am still grateful for the wheels even if I am the sole driver.

Hiking Adventures

One of the things that I sorely missed while being in Texas was going on one of my treasured hikes. Recently we packed up food and friends for a day of exploration along the Historic Gorge Highway. We set our feet to tread around LaTourelle Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Horsetail Falls, Ponytail Falls, and Multnomah Falls. Can I just sigh here? Sigh..................
I never tired of feeling so intimate with God's amazing creative beauty.

LaTourelle Falls

Do you see the tiny colored specs of red and blue

just to the right of the falls?

Those are our kids hiking around.

Bridal Veil Falls

This is one of my favorites that I can sit and breathe in

for hours while getting lost in the quiet nature all around.

Horsetail Falls

Pippin and friend "Jerry" looking like very daring lil' monkeys.

Ponytail Falls

This one is a hike about a mile in from Horsetail.

The hiking path goes behind the falls so it is quite the reward

for those willing to walk up the hill a sort bit.

Those are all our kids exploring the pool area.

Daddy

Rocks at Ponytail Falls

It has taken me a few days to come to grips with Daddy's latest scan results. The scan images show that while the tumors in his esophagus and kidney shrank during our vigilant regime, they also spread to his liver and stomach. There is no more talk of surgery or success from the doctors. Now they only speak of time and comfort.

My first reaction was to cry and coddle with denial. I couldn't comprehend his cancer advancing when we had worked so hard to get him better. I had left him feeling confident. Things played tag races through my mind of what the rest of the year will look like and left me with nothing but fitful sleep for many days.

-I have to pack his house - I have to get all the little doggies up here - The girls need to see him soon - If I pull Puddin' out of school for 2 weeks will it submarine all of her grades - How long do I stay next time - Our oldest daughter is getting married in August - I wanted to forget everything and just get back there to hold him again.
Then I went numb. The slightest thing brought me to tears but I had no concept of understanding any of it.

Now I am snapping out of it to find reason and purpose to my thoughts. Even in the depths, I knew God was with me for I heard Him over and over again saying so. I can't plan out all this is going to happen. It isn't my job or place to do so. My job is to concentrate on this minute. the next minute will take care of itself and doesn't need my attention until it is actually here.